**Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Dock Review**

The Elgato dock is a solid product that will make most users happy, but it's also pricey at $350, so you'll have to take that into account as well. One of the standout features of this dock is its placement flexibility, with five ports on the front and seven ports on the back, totaling 12 ports in all. While not as many as some other docks like the Cow GTS 3 Plus, which is currently my favorite dock, it's still a fair amount of ports.

This dock also features a micro SD card slot that supports UHS-2, along with the standard sized slot that supports UHS-2. It also has two USB Type-C ports that support USB 3.1 Gen2 for 10 gigabits per second connectivity. This is a very nice feature to have, especially when working with large media files.

Let's take a closer look at some of the other ports and what's included on this dock. Of course, we have the power input, which provides a reliable way to charge your device. We also have DisplayPort 1.2, supporting a display up to 4k 60 Hertz. There are two Thunderbolt 3 ports, one designated for MacBook Pros, providing 85 watts of power delivery, and another available for daisy-chaining and working with Thunderbolt 3 displays.

The dock can also connect to a 5k display via Thunderbolt 3, like the LG Ultra Fine 5K display. Additionally, there are two USB Type-A ports, supporting up to 5 gigabits per second, a headphone jack, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and a microphone input. There's also an SD card slot along with a microSD card slot, both of which support UHS-2 for faster transfer speeds when using UHS media.

One little detail that sets this dock apart is its non-slip feet on the bottom, which provide stability and prevent the dock from slipping or moving around on your desktop. Now, let's take a closer look at some of my favorite features about this dock.

One feature I wanted to test out was the UHS support, which enables SD cards with extra pins to allow for even faster transfer speeds in both read and write. When using the Blackmagic disk speed test, the performance is really good, making all the difference when transferring large media files, such as 4K footage on an e7 3. For instance.

I also wanted to test out Thunderbolt 3 performance using the Samsung X5 SSD. While it's not directly connected to the MacBook Air, the performance is still very good, with a little bit better write speed when directly connected. Additionally, I tested out power delivery, and as expected for this MacBook Air, you get 60 watts of power.

This dock is capable of charging a 15-inch MacBook Pro at full speed, providing up to 85 watts of power. This is a great feature, especially when working with laptops that require a lot of power to charge quickly. The dock also has a built-in utility called "Dismount" that allows you to dismount all connected drives with a single click.

To test out this feature, I connected multiple external hard drives and ran the Dismount utility on the dock. It successfully dismounted all the drives with no error messages, making it easy to unplug the dock without having to manually unmount each drive first. This is a great convenience feature that makes working with external drives much easier.

In conclusion, the Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Dock is a good product that allows you to connect to multiple 4K displays and a single 5k display. It also has decent build quality, although it's not as good as some other docks like the Cow GTS 3 Plus. The dock can be oriented vertically or horizontally, providing flexibility in terms of placement.

However, there are some limitations to consider. For example, you don't have an extra USB Type-C port that supports 10 gigabits per second (as on the Cow GTS 3 Plus), and you also don't have microSD card support. Additionally, the dock is pricey at $350, so you'll have to factor this into your decision when considering whether or not to purchase it.

Overall, I think most users will be happy with the Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Dock, but it's essential to weigh its pros and cons before making a purchasing decision.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhow's it going guys this is Jeff Benjamin in this video we review the elgato Thunderbolt 3 Pro dock check it out thanks for watching nine-to-five Mac be sure to thumbs up click the subscribe button and then enable notifications with the bell icon so you won't miss any upcoming videos alright so this is the Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Pro dock let's go ahead and get it unboxed here get 2 separate boxes in the first box you'll find the dock itself got the rapper off there and this dock has 12 different ports on it we're gonna discuss those ports here in just a second so with the single cable you gain access to all that i/o from your MacBook Pro your iMac whatever Thunderbolt 3 enabled computer you want to hook it up to you and it supports USB power delivery so it's going to be able to recharge your macbook pro up to 85 watts so 15 inch macbook pro owners will be able to charge at full speed and obviously that power brick is large and in charge almost as big as the dock itself but that's pretty much par for the course with these types of docks the real cool thing though is that you get a 0.7 meter Thunderbolt 3 cable inside the box so it's a little bit longer than your typical cable which is nice for placement flexibility so like I said you get five ports on front and seven ports on the back for a total of 12 ports in all so that is a fair amount of ports however it is not as many as you'll find on other docks such as the cow GTS 3 plus which is currently my favorite dock but el Gatos dock also has some things that the cow digiti s3 doesn't have such as a micro SD card slot that supports UHS 2 along with the standard sized slot that supports UHS 2 it also features two USB type-c ports that support USB 3.1 gen2 for 10 gigabits per second connectivity so that is of course a very nice feature to have let's go ahead and talk about some of the other ports and break down what's all included here so of course we have the power input we also have DisplayPort 1.2 supports a display up to 4k 60 Hertz you have a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports this one right here designated for your MacBook Pros gonna provide the 85 watts or up to 85 watts power delivery this one here is available for daisy-chaining and it also works with Thunderbolt 3 displays you can connect up to a 5k display via Thunderbolt 3 like the LG ultra fine 5k display and like I already mentioned there is a pair of USB type-c ports supporting up to 10 gigabits per second because their USB 3.1 gen2 there's a headphone jack and there's a Gigabit Ethernet port now there's also two USB type a ports five gigabits per second there's a microphone input and finally there's an SD card slot along with a micro SD card slot both slots support you hs2 for faster transfer speeds when using UHS to media now another little detail you have for non-slip feet on the bottom of the dock to keep it nice and steady and stable on your desktop ok so let's briefly discuss some of my favorite features about this dock starting with UHS - support that we already mentioned here is a u H best to enabled SD card with that extra set of pins to allow for even faster transfer speeds in both read and write and as you'll see from our black magic disk speed test the performance is really good for an SD card that's gonna make all the difference when transferring a large 4k media shot on an e7 3 for instance back to your Mac now I also wanted to test out Thunderbolt 3 performance using the Samsung x5 SSD and as you can see Thunderbolt 3 performance is really good not as great as it would be if directly connected to the MacBook Air but still really good although you will get a little bit better write speed in particular when directly connected I also tested out power delivery and as expected for this MacBook Air you get 60 watts of power this dock is capable of charging a 15-inch MacBook Pro at full speed providing up to 85 watts of power now as you can see I have lots and lots of stuff connected here basically every port is occupied except for the microphone and that's only because I don't have a microphone readily available but what's cool is that I'm able to connect to all those devices via a single Thunderbolt 3 cable still maintain good performance you can see all the melted drives there but that poses an issue right am I gonna have to manually unmount each of these drives before unplugging the dock no you can use el Gatos free utility to dismount all the connected drives with a single click just like this so it goes through dismounts them all and then you'll see it's safe to unplug and you simply unplug like that with no error messages so the conclusion is this the el gato dock is a good dock it allows you to connect to multiple 4k displays a single 5k display it also has decent build quality although the Cal digit ts3 plus has much better build quality and more flexibility as far as placement is concerned it can be oriented vertically or horizontally here you have an additional three USB type a ports on the elgato dock along with optical audio so that's something to keep in mind however you don't have the extra USB type-c 3.1 gen2 port and you also don't have microSD either so take that into account the elgato Thunder boat 3 pro dock is a good dock it doesn't do anything particularly special but it is a very solid product that I think will make most users happy but it is pricey at 350 dollars so you'll also have to take that into account as well what do you guys think what's your favorite Thunderbolt 3 dock let me know down below in the comment section this is Jeff with nine-to-five Machow's it going guys this is Jeff Benjamin in this video we review the elgato Thunderbolt 3 Pro dock check it out thanks for watching nine-to-five Mac be sure to thumbs up click the subscribe button and then enable notifications with the bell icon so you won't miss any upcoming videos alright so this is the Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Pro dock let's go ahead and get it unboxed here get 2 separate boxes in the first box you'll find the dock itself got the rapper off there and this dock has 12 different ports on it we're gonna discuss those ports here in just a second so with the single cable you gain access to all that i/o from your MacBook Pro your iMac whatever Thunderbolt 3 enabled computer you want to hook it up to you and it supports USB power delivery so it's going to be able to recharge your macbook pro up to 85 watts so 15 inch macbook pro owners will be able to charge at full speed and obviously that power brick is large and in charge almost as big as the dock itself but that's pretty much par for the course with these types of docks the real cool thing though is that you get a 0.7 meter Thunderbolt 3 cable inside the box so it's a little bit longer than your typical cable which is nice for placement flexibility so like I said you get five ports on front and seven ports on the back for a total of 12 ports in all so that is a fair amount of ports however it is not as many as you'll find on other docks such as the cow GTS 3 plus which is currently my favorite dock but el Gatos dock also has some things that the cow digiti s3 doesn't have such as a micro SD card slot that supports UHS 2 along with the standard sized slot that supports UHS 2 it also features two USB type-c ports that support USB 3.1 gen2 for 10 gigabits per second connectivity so that is of course a very nice feature to have let's go ahead and talk about some of the other ports and break down what's all included here so of course we have the power input we also have DisplayPort 1.2 supports a display up to 4k 60 Hertz you have a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports this one right here designated for your MacBook Pros gonna provide the 85 watts or up to 85 watts power delivery this one here is available for daisy-chaining and it also works with Thunderbolt 3 displays you can connect up to a 5k display via Thunderbolt 3 like the LG ultra fine 5k display and like I already mentioned there is a pair of USB type-c ports supporting up to 10 gigabits per second because their USB 3.1 gen2 there's a headphone jack and there's a Gigabit Ethernet port now there's also two USB type a ports five gigabits per second there's a microphone input and finally there's an SD card slot along with a micro SD card slot both slots support you hs2 for faster transfer speeds when using UHS to media now another little detail you have for non-slip feet on the bottom of the dock to keep it nice and steady and stable on your desktop ok so let's briefly discuss some of my favorite features about this dock starting with UHS - support that we already mentioned here is a u H best to enabled SD card with that extra set of pins to allow for even faster transfer speeds in both read and write and as you'll see from our black magic disk speed test the performance is really good for an SD card that's gonna make all the difference when transferring a large 4k media shot on an e7 3 for instance back to your Mac now I also wanted to test out Thunderbolt 3 performance using the Samsung x5 SSD and as you can see Thunderbolt 3 performance is really good not as great as it would be if directly connected to the MacBook Air but still really good although you will get a little bit better write speed in particular when directly connected I also tested out power delivery and as expected for this MacBook Air you get 60 watts of power this dock is capable of charging a 15-inch MacBook Pro at full speed providing up to 85 watts of power now as you can see I have lots and lots of stuff connected here basically every port is occupied except for the microphone and that's only because I don't have a microphone readily available but what's cool is that I'm able to connect to all those devices via a single Thunderbolt 3 cable still maintain good performance you can see all the melted drives there but that poses an issue right am I gonna have to manually unmount each of these drives before unplugging the dock no you can use el Gatos free utility to dismount all the connected drives with a single click just like this so it goes through dismounts them all and then you'll see it's safe to unplug and you simply unplug like that with no error messages so the conclusion is this the el gato dock is a good dock it allows you to connect to multiple 4k displays a single 5k display it also has decent build quality although the Cal digit ts3 plus has much better build quality and more flexibility as far as placement is concerned it can be oriented vertically or horizontally here you have an additional three USB type a ports on the elgato dock along with optical audio so that's something to keep in mind however you don't have the extra USB type-c 3.1 gen2 port and you also don't have microSD either so take that into account the elgato Thunder boat 3 pro dock is a good dock it doesn't do anything particularly special but it is a very solid product that I think will make most users happy but it is pricey at 350 dollars so you'll also have to take that into account as well what do you guys think what's your favorite Thunderbolt 3 dock let me know down below in the comment section this is Jeff with nine-to-five Mac\n"